Sheffield - HD Lockback utility knife

A utility knife is a must-have tool and one you can never have too many of. Over my career in this business, I've seen my share of utility knives, from downright cheap to the most expensive and everything in between. Many of them were poorly designed.

I've seen so many tools over the years that I don't get too excited, but when I took the Sheffield Lockback utility knife out of its package, it got my attention.

This has to be one of the cleanest designs I have ever seen in a utility knife. The metallic red handle, stainless steel that holds and supports the razor blade, brass that houses the release button for a click-change of the blade, and black lid that stores five blades underneath it in the handle combine to make one beautiful utility knife.

From the time I picked it up to test for this review until the time I finally put it down, I could not get over how comfortable it is to handle this utility knife. And I mean comfortable. The underside of the handle has a spot for your index finger. Just in front of the handle at the top there's a platform for your thumb. The platform or thumb rest has knurled non-slip rubber that really grips your thumb, so there's no worry about your thumb slipping during use. This was all designed for a normal grip.

If you need a better grip, you can slide your hand forward so your middle finger goes where the index finger would have been placed. The index finger then moves forward to a knurled metal spot that really grips the finger. The thumb moves forward over the thumb's platform to rest on both the thumb rest and the back of the razor blade support. The handle is constructed from heavy-duty aluminum and is designed with an oversized ergonomic grip to reduce fatigue.

The razor blade is quickly changed by simply pulling back on the release button with your thumb. It releases the blade swing-arm cover to expose the blade for change-out. The swing-arm is held in place by a pin that also allows the cover to pivot. However, I noticed there's a little play in this area, just enough so that when the swing-arm is closed, the razor blade can slide downward out of its track a bit. It appear the pin needs to be flattened a bit more to tighten the play on the swing-arm cover. Its not a real issue at first since there's always pressure against the blade, but over time when the parts start to wear and loosen up, there's a possibility the razor blade could pop out of its track completely when cutting under extreme pressure.

The beauty of this unit is that it folds by simply pushing in on the back lock release in the spine of the handle. The blade folds into the belly of the handle making the unit only 4 1/2" long. The best part is that you can now store it in a nylon-fabric case designed especially for—and included with—the utility knife. It even comes with a clear acrylic razor blade protective cover that can stay on the blade even in the closed position.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Sheffield's Heavy Duty Lockback utility knife a 9. To top it off, you can't beat the suggested retail price $23.99 for such a high-quality tool.